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173-602: Teide , or Mount Teide , ( Spanish : El Teide, Pico del Teide , pronounced [ˈpiko ðel ˈtejðe] , "Peak of Teide") is a volcano on Tenerife in the Canary Islands , Spain . Its summit (at 3,715 m (12,188 ft)) is the highest point in Spain and the highest point above sea level in the islands of the Atlantic . If measured from the ocean floor, its height of 7,500 m (24,600 ft) makes Teide

346-634: A Sahrawi nationalist movement, the Polisario Front , which proclaimed itself the rightful leadership of the SADR with a government-in-exile in Tindouf , Algeria . Mauritania withdrew its claims in 1979, and Morocco secured de facto control of most of the territory, including all major cities and most natural resources. The UN considers the Polisario Front the legitimate representative of

519-622: A Moroccan demand. In 1965, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on Western Sahara, asking Spain to decolonize the territory. A year later, resolution 2229 (XXI) was passed by the UN General Assembly requesting that a referendum be held by Spain on self-determination. In 1975, Spain relinquished administrative control of the territory to a joint administration by Morocco and Mauritania . A war erupted between those countries and

692-596: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Western Sahara Western Sahara

865-713: A TV station, were also set on fire. Moroccan officials said five security personnel had been killed in the unrest. On 15 November 2010, the Moroccan government accused the Algerian secret services of orchestrating and financing the Gadaym Izik camp with the intent to destabilize the region. The Spanish press was accused of mounting a campaign of disinformation to support the Sahrawi initiative, and all foreign reporters were either prevented from traveling or else expelled from

1038-401: A Western Sahara autonomy under Moroccan rule but only after Morocco's "inalienable right" to the territory was recognized as a precondition to the talks. The Algerian government has consistently refused, claiming it has neither the will nor the right to negotiate on the behalf of the Polisario Front. In May 2005, demonstrations and riots by supporters of independence or a referendum broke out in

1211-603: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to

1384-423: A dense layer of clouds between 800 and 1,600 ft (240 and 490 m) of altitude. But the inversion layer also stops these clouds from rising, and the climate is thus very dry below the level of Teide. The precipitation in the caldera in the caldera is thus less than 500 mm per year, the majority falling in the winter, and in total, around one third in the form of snow. Variation can be quite high from one year to

1557-522: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of

1730-482: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after

1903-520: A grain of its sand." In 2006, he created an appointed advisory body Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs (CORCAS), which proposes a self-governing Western Sahara as an autonomous community within Morocco. The UN has put forth no replacement strategy after the breakdown of Baker II, and renewed fighting has been raised as a possibility. In 2005, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan reported increased military activity on both sides of

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2076-570: A height of around 2,190 m (7,190 ft) above sea level. Teide is an active volcano : its most recent eruption occurred in late 1909 from the El Chinyero vent on the northwestern Santiago rift. The United Nations Committee for Disaster Mitigation designated Teide a Decade Volcano because of its history of destructive eruptions and its proximity to several large towns, of which the closest are Garachico , Icod de los Vinos and Puerto de la Cruz . Teide, Pico Viejo and Montaña Blanca form

2249-580: A high wind) and taking eight minutes to reach the summit. Access to the summit itself is restricted; a free permit is required to climb the last 200 m (660 ft). Numbers are normally restricted to 200 per day. Several footpaths take hikers to the upper cable car terminal, and then onto the summit. Because of the altitude, the air is significantly thinner than at sea level. This can cause people (especially with heart or lung conditions) to become light-headed or dizzy, to develop altitude sickness , and in extreme cases to lose consciousness. The only treatment

2422-524: A large number of invertebrate species, over 40% of which are endemic species, and 70 of which are found only in the National Park. The invertebrate fauna includes spiders , beetles , dipterans , hemipterans , and hymenopterae . In contrast, Teide National Park has only a limited variety of vertebrate fauna. Ten species of bird nest there, including the blue chaffinch ( Fringilla teydea ), Berthelot's pipit ( Anthus berthelotii berthelotii ),

2595-478: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of

2768-401: A low prominence , not more than 100 m (330 ft) higher than the slopes of the main volcano. On the outside of these two main peaks, the relief Teide also has some smaller formations, of which the most notable are Roques Blancos , Pico Cabras , and Montaña Blanca , situated next to the base of Teide. The slopes of Teide are covered in radial ravines. However, the majority of

2941-535: A major snowstorm and rain swept over them and they failed to reach the peak of Teide, just barely getting past Montaña Blanca. The German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt stopped in Tenerife during his voyage to South America in June 1799 and climbed Teide with his travelling companion Aimé Bonpland and some local guides. This excursion confirmed the volcanic origin of basalt. During an expedition to Kilimanjaro ,

3114-582: A multi-party system at the achievement of independence. It is presently based at the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria, which it controls. It also controls the part of Western Sahara to the east of the Moroccan Wall, known as the liberated territories . This area has a very small population, estimated to be approximately 30,000 nomads. The Moroccan government views it as a no-man's land patrolled by UN troops. The SADR government whose troops also patrol

3287-670: A new stratovolcano, Las Cañadas II, formed in the vicinity of Guajara and then catastrophically collapsed. Another volcano, Las Cañadas III, formed in the Diego Hernandez sector of the caldera. All of the Las Cañadas volcanoes attained a maximum altitude similar to that of Teide (which is sometimes referred to as the Las Cañadas IV volcano). Two theories on the formation of the 16 km × 9 km (9.9 mi × 5.6 mi) caldera exist. The first states that

3460-512: A predominance (70%) of very low hazard, basaltic eruptions". The authors further commented that "the recent eruptive record, combined with the available petrological and radiometric data, provides a rather optimistic outlook on major volcanic hazards related to Teide and its rift zones, posing only very localized threats to the one million inhabitants of Tenerife and the 4.5 million annual visitors to Teide National Park." However, another study in 2009 concluded that Teide will probably erupt violently in

3633-508: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as

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3806-527: A research team tested the Raman instrument at Las Cañadas del Teide in anticipation of its use in the 2016–2018 ESA-NASA ExoMars expedition. In June 2011 a team of researchers from the UK visited the park to test a method for looking for life on Mars and to search for suitable places to test new robotic vehicles in 2012. The volcano and its surroundings, including the whole of the Las Cañadas caldera, are protected in

3979-562: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of

4152-531: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as

4325-553: A €25 million ($ 27 million) investment in Guelmim-Oued Noun , which includes part of the Western Sahara. Sovereignty over Western Sahara is contested between Morocco and the Polisario Front and its legal status remains unresolved. The United Nations considers it to be a " non-self-governing territory ". Formally, Morocco is administered by a bicameral parliament under a constitutional monarchy wherein

4498-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent

4671-436: Is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish

4844-486: Is Leisler's bat ( Nyctalus leisleri ). Other mammals, such as the mouflon , the rabbit , the house mouse , the black rat , the feral cat , and the North African hedgehog , have all been introduced to the park. Teide casts the world's largest shadow projected on the sea. The shadow is cast for more than 40 km (25 mi) from the mountain's summit, reaching as far as the island of La Gomera at dawn, and

5017-620: Is a disputed territory in North-western Africa . It has a surface area of 272,000 square kilometres (105,000 sq mi). Approximately 30% of the territory (82,500 km (31,900 sq mi)) is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco . It is the most sparsely populated territory in Africa and

5190-492: Is administered by the SADR, backed by Algeria . The only part of the coast in SADR territory is the extreme south. Internationally, countries such as Russia have taken an ambiguous and neutral position on each side's claims and pressed parties to agree on a peaceful resolution. Morocco and Polisario have sought to boost their claims by accumulating formal recognition, especially from African, Asian, and Latin American states in

5363-418: Is considered structurally unstable and its northern flank has a distinctive bulge. The summit of the volcano has a number of small active fumaroles emitting sulfur dioxide and other gases, including low levels of hydrogen sulfide . A scientific assessment in 2006, published in the journal Eos, observed that "in the past 30,000 years, eruptions have occurred at a rate of only four to six per millennium, with

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5536-454: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also

5709-761: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law

5882-462: Is in fact younger than Teide) are the most recent centres of activity on the volcanic island of Tenerife , which is the largest (2,058 km or 795 sq mi) and highest (3,715 m or 12,188 ft) island in the Canaries . It has a complex volcanic history. The formation of the island and the development of the current Teide volcano took place in the five stages shown in the diagram on

6055-438: Is marked by a small volcanic cone, about 150 m (490 ft) high, named El Pitón , which has a summit crater 100 m (330 ft) in diameter and 30 m (98 ft) deep. A secondary cone, named Pico Viejo emerges on the western slopes of the main peak; its crater is much larger, with a diameter of 800 m (2,600 ft) and a depth of 140 m (460 ft). It rises to 3,414 m (11,201 ft), but with

6228-453: Is rare. Western Sahara contains four terrestrial ecoregions : Saharan halophytics , Mediterranean acacia-argania dry woodlands and succulent thickets , Atlantic coastal desert , and North Saharan steppe and woodlands . The earliest known inhabitants of Western Sahara were the Gaetuli . Depending on the century, Roman-era sources describe the area as inhabited by Gaetulian Autololes or

6401-728: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off

6574-813: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in

6747-520: Is the main symbol of Tenerife and the most emblematic natural monument of the Canary Islands. An image of Teide, gushing flames, appears at the centre of Tenerife's coat of arms. Above the volcano appears St. Michael , the patron saint of Tenerife. The flag colors of the island are dark blue , traditionally identified with the sea that surrounds the island, and white for the whiteness of the snow-covered peaks of Teide during winter. The logo of

6920-488: Is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on the other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by

7093-510: Is to return to lower altitudes and acclimatise. An astronomical observatory is located on the slopes of the mountain, taking advantage of the good weather, and the altitude, which puts it above most clouds, and promotes stable Astronomical seeing . The Teide Observatory is operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias . It includes solar, radio and microwave telescopes, in addition to traditional optical night-time telescopes. Teide

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7266-549: Is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian),

7439-578: Is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for

7612-517: Is very high due to Teide's subtropical latitude and proximity to the Azores high , as well as a very high UV index caused by the height of the peak (greater than 11 in the middle of the summer). This sunshine of around 3,450 h per year is partially compensated by the Canary current , a relatively cold ocean current which makes the climate more temperate. The situation at the level of Teide and its caldera

7785-405: Is very unlike the climate at its base. In effect, the climate of Tenerife is marked by an inversion layer around at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,300 ft), isolating the high-altitude zones from ocean influences present at the lower altitudes. This leads to a more continental climate on Teide, with strong changes in temperature over the course of the day (typically on the order of 15 °C) and in

7958-483: The Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and

8131-537: The Atlantic canary ( Serinus canaria ) and a subspecies of kestrel ( Falco tinnunculus canariensis ). Three endemic reptile species are found in the park: the Canary Island lizard ( Gallotia galloti galloti ), the Canary Island wall gecko ( Tarentola delalandii ), and the Canary Island skink ( Chalcides viridanus viridanus ). The only mammals native to the park are bats , the most common of which

8304-467: The Berlin Conference in 1884 on the division of spheres of influence in Africa , the same year Spain seized control of Western Sahara and established it as a Spanish colony. Despite establishing their first colony in the region at Río de Oro Bay in 1884, the Spanish were unable to pacify the interior of the region until the 1930s. Raids and rebellions by the indigenous Saharan population kept

8477-659: The Cabildo de Tenerife (governing body of the island) includes a symbol of Teide in eruption. Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in

8650-652: The Lamtuna nomadic Berbers of the Sahara . Over roughly five centuries, through a complex process of acculturation and mixing seen elsewhere in the Maghreb and North Africa, some of the indigenous Berber tribes mixed with the Maqil Arab tribes and formed a culture unique to Morocco and Mauritania . The Spanish presence in the region of modern-day Western Sahara lasted from 1884 to 1975. While initial Spanish interest in

8823-517: The Sahrawi people , and maintains the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination . Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve independence and has been dubbed "Africa's last colony". Since a UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement in 1991, most of the territory has been administered by the Moroccan government , with tacit support from France and the United States. The remainder

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8996-510: The Soufrière Hills , Mount Unzen and elsewhere. During 2003, there was an increase in seismic activity at the volcano and a rift opened on the north-east flank. No eruptive activity occurred but a quantity of material, possibly liquid, was emplaced into the edifice and is estimated to have a volume of ~10 m. Such activity can indicate that magma is rising into the edifice, but is not always a precursor to an eruption. Teide additionally

9169-568: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)

9342-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under

9515-465: The cease-fire terms , but most observers seem to consider armed conflict unlikely without the green light from Algeria , which houses the Sahrawis' refugee camps and has been the main military sponsor of the movement. In April 2007, the government of Morocco suggested that a self-governing entity, through the CORCAS, should govern the territory with some degree of autonomy for Western Sahara. The project

9688-413: The monarch retains significant powers, such as the capacity to appoint the government and to dissolve parliament. The last elections to the parliament's lower house were deemed reasonably free and fair by international observers. The Morocco-controlled parts of Western Sahara are divided into several provinces that are treated as integral parts of the kingdom. The Moroccan government heavily subsidizes

9861-414: The province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife . Before reliable measurements were available, Teide was considered by Europeans to be the highest mountain on Earth for a long time. With a height of 3,715 m (12,188 ft), it is the highest point in Spain and the Atlantic Ocean. If it is measured from the ocean floor, it surpasses 7,000 m (23,000 ft), making it the third highest volcanic structure in

10034-562: The second most sparsely populated territory in the world , mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at 618,600. Nearly 40% of that population lives in Morocco-controlled Laayoune , the largest city of Western Sahara. Previously occupied by Spain as the Spanish Sahara until 1975, Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories since 1963 after

10207-469: The 1974 Spanish Census lists (see below) to vote, while Morocco has insisted that the census was flawed by evasion and sought the inclusion of members of Sahrawi tribes that escaped from Spanish invasion to the north of Morocco by the 19th century. Efforts by the UN special envoys to find a common ground for both parties did not succeed. By 1999 the UN had identified about 85,000 voters, with nearly half of them in

10380-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,

10553-595: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it

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10726-761: The 8th century played a major role in the development of the Maghreb region. Trade developed further, and the territory may have been one of the routes for caravans , especially between Marrakesh and Tombouctou in Mali . In the 11th century, the Maqil Arabs (fewer than 200 individuals) settled in Morocco (mainly in the Draa River valley, between the Moulouya River , Tafilalt and Taourirt ). Towards

10899-564: The 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary

11072-405: The African Union works with the UN mission to maintain the ceasefire and reach a peace agreement. The African Union provides a peacekeeping contingent to the UN mission which is used to control a buffer zone near the de facto border walls built by Morocco. Western Sahara is located on the north-west coast in West Africa and on the cusp of North Africa , bordering the North Atlantic Ocean to

11245-409: The Canary Island wallflower ( Erysimum scoparium ), which has violet flowers; and the Teide bugloss ( Echium wildpretii ), whose red flowers form a pyramid up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in height. The Teide daisy ( Argyranthemum teneriffae ) can be found at altitudes close to 3,600 m (11,800 ft) above sea level, and the Teide violet ( Viola cheiranthifolia ) can be found right up to

11418-421: The Central Volcanic Complex of Tenerife. The volcano and its surroundings make up Teide National Park , which has an area of 18,900 hectares (47,000 acres) and was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007. Teide is the most visited natural wonder of Spain, the most visited national park in Spain and Europe and, by 2015, the eighth most visited in the world, with some 3 million visitors yearly. In 2016, it

11591-456: The Cordillera Dorsal or northeast rift (Fasnia in 1704, Siete Fuentes and Arafo in 1705). The 1706 Montañas Negras eruption destroyed the town and principal port of Garachico, as well as several smaller villages. Historical activity associated with the Teide and Pico Viejo stratovolcanoes occurred in 1798 from the Narices del Teide on the western flank of Pico Viejo. Eruptive material from Pico Viejo, Montaña Teide and Montaña Blanca partially fills

11764-523: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish

11937-402: The Gaetulian Daradae tribes. Berber heritage is still evident from regional and place-name toponymy , as well as from tribal names. Other early inhabitants of Western Sahara may be the Bafour and later the Serer . The Bafour were later replaced or absorbed by Berber-speaking populations, which eventually merged in turn with the migrating Beni Ḥassān Arab tribes. The arrival of Islam in

12110-442: The German adventurer Hans Heinrich Joseph Meyer visited Teide in 1894 to observe ice conditions on the volcano. He described the two mountains as "two kings, one rising in the ocean and the other in the desert and steppes". More recently in November 2017, Gema Hassen-Bey became the first Paralympic athlete in the world in a wheelchair to reach 3,000 meters altitude with only the momentum of her arms. Initially, Gema wanted to reach

12283-466: The Houston Agreement (1997), Morocco officially declared that it was "no longer necessary" to include an option of independence on the ballot, offering instead autonomy. Erik Jensen, who played an administrative role in MINURSO, wrote that neither side would agree to a voter registration in which they were destined to lose (see Western Sahara: Anatomy of a Stalemate ). As personal envoy of the Secretary-General, James Baker visited all sides and produced

12456-705: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed

12629-467: The Las Cañadas caldera. The last explosive eruption involving the central volcanic centre was from Montaña Blanca around 2000 years ago. The last eruption within the Las Cañadas caldera occurred in 1798 from the Narices del Teide or Chahorra (Teide's Nostrils) on the western flank of Pico Viejo. The eruption was predominantly strombolian in style and most of the lava was ʻaʻā . This lava is visible beside

12802-506: The Liberation of Saguía el Hamra and Río de Oro. The movement tried without success to gain backing from several Arab governments, including Algeria and Morocco. Spain began rapidly to divest itself of most of its remaining colonial possessions. By 1974–75 the government issued promises of a referendum on independence in Western Sahara. At the same time, Morocco and Mauritania , which had historical and competing claims of sovereignty over

12975-664: The Moroccan-Israeli normalisation deal, the United States established a temporary consulate post in Dakhla in January 2021 as a transition to establishing a permanent consulate within the near future. The Western Sahara conflict has resulted in severe human-rights abuses, constantly reported by external reporters and human rights activists, most notably the displacement of tens of thousands of Sahrawi civilians from

13148-528: The Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara and in parts of southern Morocco (notably the town of Assa ). They were met by police. Several international human rights organizations expressed concern at what they termed abuse by Moroccan security forces, and a number of Sahrawi activists have been jailed. Pro-independence Sahrawi sources, including the Polisario, have given these demonstrations

13321-490: The Moroccan-controlled parts of Western Sahara or Southern Morocco, and the others scattered between the Tindouf refugee camps , Mauritania and other places of exile. Polisario accepted this voter list, as it had done with the previous list presented by the UN (both of them originally based on the Spanish census of 1974), but Morocco refused and, as rejected voter candidates began a mass-appeals procedure, insisted that each application be scrutinized individually. This again brought

13494-540: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to

13667-442: The Polisario Front and Morocco broke down, leading to armed clashes between both sides. On 10 December 2020, the United States announced that it would recognize full Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel with a view for subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations . In February 2021, Morocco proposed to Spain the creation of an autonomy for Western Sahara under

13840-501: The Polisario Front, which opposed both Moroccan and Mauritanian claims and demanded full independence of Western Sahara. The UN attempted to settle these disputes through a visiting mission in late 1975, as well as a verdict from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It acknowledged that Western Sahara had historical links with Morocco and Mauritania, but not sufficient to prove the sovereignty of either State over

14013-589: The Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn,

14186-564: The Sahara was focused on using it as a port for the slave trade , by the 1700s Spain had transitioned economic activity on the Saharan coast towards commercial fishing. By the 19th century, Spain had claimed the southern coastal region and penetration of the hinterland gradually followed; later in 1904 the northern region was acquired. After an agreement among the European colonial powers at

14359-408: The Saharan provinces under its control with cut-rate fuel and related subsidies, to appease nationalist dissent and attract immigrants from Sahrawis and other communities in Morocco proper. The exiled government of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is a form of single-party parliamentary and presidential system, but according to its constitution, this will be changed into

14532-461: The Spanish forces out of much of the territory for a long time. The territory was eventually subdued by joint Spanish and French forces in 1934, the same year the Spaniards divided their Saharan territories into two regions named after the rivers: Saguía el-Hamra and Río de Oro . After 1939 and the outbreak of World War II , this area was administered by Spanish Morocco . In 1958, Spain joined

14705-516: The Teide National Park. Access is by a public road running from northeast to southwest across the caldera. TITSA runs a return service to Teide once a day from both Puerto de la Cruz and Playa de las Americas . The park has a Parador (hotel) and a small chapel. A cable car goes from the roadside at 2,356 m (7,730 ft) most of the way to the summit, reaching 3,555 m (11,663 ft), carrying up to 38 passengers (34 in

14878-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English

15051-516: The UN had ever recognized Moroccan sovereignty over parts of Western Sahara. In 2020, the US recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in exchange for Moroccan normalization of relations with Israel . In 2023, Israel recognized Moroccan sovereignty. In 1984, the African Union 's predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity , recognized the SADR as one of its full members, with

15224-757: The Vilaflor–Chio road. Christopher Columbus reported seeing "a great fire in the Orotava Valley " as he sailed past Tenerife on his first voyage to the New World in 1492. This was interpreted as indicating that he had witnessed an eruption there. Radiometric dating of possible lavas indicates that in 1492 no eruption occurred in the Orotava Valley, but one did occur from the Boca Cangrejo vent. The last summit eruption from Teide occurred about

15397-457: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of

15570-641: The area have proclaimed a village in the area, Bir Lehlou and Tifariti , as SADR's former and actual temporary factual capitals. On 18 December 2019, the Comoros became the first nation to open a consulate in Laayoune in support of Moroccan claims to Western Sahara. In January 2020, The Gambia and Guinea opened consulates in Dakhla ; meanwhile, Gabon opened a consulate general in Laayoune. As part of

15743-480: The area. The protest coincided with a fresh round of negotiations at the UN. In 2016, the European Union (EU) declared that "Western Sahara is not part of Moroccan territory." In March 2016, Morocco "expelled more than 70 U.N. civilian staffers with MINURSO" due to strained relations after Ban Ki-moon called Morocco's annexation of Western Sahara an "occupation". In November 2020, the ceasefire between

15916-488: The chain. This has aroused an intense debate in the scientific community, which continues to a certain extent today. One hypothesis which allows reconciliation of these observations is the presence in the Earth's mantle of a convection cell which enters one part of the magma more towards the east, thus activating the old islands. According to this hypothesis, the magma would be also responsible for scattered volcanic activity to

16089-684: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in

16262-500: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it

16435-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in

16608-411: The country, the expulsion of tens of thousands of Moroccan civilians by the Algerian government from Algeria, and numerous casualties of war and repression. During the war years (1975–1991), both sides accused each other of targeting civilians. Moroccan claims of Polisario terrorism have generally had little to no support abroad, with the US, European Union, African Union and UN all refusing to include

16781-530: The course of the year (with a range of -15 °C in winter to 30 °C in the summer). Humidity is also very affected by this inversion layer. The presence of the Axores high in the northwest of the Canaries in summer induces relatively constant winds ( trade winds ) blowing from the northeast to the southwest. These winds carry moisture across the Atlantic and goes to rain on the north of Tenerife, forming in particular

16954-543: The depression is the result of a vertical collapse of the volcano triggered by the emptying of shallow magma chambers at around sea level under the Las Cañadas volcano after large-volume explosive eruptions . The second theory is that the caldera was formed by a series of lateral gravitational collapses similar to those described in Hawaii . Evidence for the latter theory has been found in both onshore observations and marine geology studies. From around 160,000 years ago until

17127-480: The developing world. The Polisario Front has won formal recognition for the SADR from 46 UN member states and South Ossetia , and was extended membership of the African Union . Morocco has won support from several African governments and most of the Muslim world and Arab League . In most instances, recognitions are extended or withdrawn due to a change in relations with Morocco. Until 2020, no other member state of

17300-605: The district of Saguia el-Hamra (the "Red River") in the north with the Río de Oro (in the south) to form the province of Spanish Sahara, following Morocco's claiming these regions in 1957. As a consequence, Ahmed Belbachir Haskouri , the Chief of Cabinet, General Secretary of the Government of Spanish Morocco, cooperated with the Spanish to select governors in that area. The Saharan lords who were already in prominent positions, such as

17473-492: The document known as the "Baker Plan". This was discussed by the United Nations Security Council in 2000, and envisioned an autonomous Western Sahara Authority (WSA), which would be followed after five years by the referendum. Every person present in the territory would be allowed to vote, regardless of birthplace and with no regard to the Spanish census. It was rejected by both sides, although it

17646-567: The end of Francisco Franco 's rule. There was a global trend towards complete decolonization . Spain abandoned most territories within neighboring Morocco in 1956, but resisted encroachment by the Moroccan Liberation Army within Ifni and Spanish Sahara from 1956 to 1958. In 1971, Sahrawi (an Arabic term for those from Sahara ) students in Moroccan universities began organizing what came to be known as The Embryonic Movement for

17819-805: The end of the Almohad Caliphate , the Beni Hassan, a sub-tribe of the Maqil, were called by the local ruler of the Sous to quell a rebellion; they settled in the Sous Ksours and controlled such cities as Taroudant . During Marinid dynasty rule, the Beni Hassan rebelled but were defeated by the Sultan and escaped beyond the Saguia el-Hamra dry river. The Beni Hassan then were at constant war with

17992-683: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with

18165-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched

18338-405: The front and breaches of several cease-fire provisions against strengthening military fortifications. Morocco has repeatedly tried to engage Algeria in bilateral negotiations, based on its view of Polisario as the cat's paw of the Algerian military. It has received vocal support from France and occasionally (and currently) from the United States. These negotiations would define the exact limits of

18511-442: The future, and that its structure is similar to that of Vesuvius and Etna. Thus the magnitude of the risk posed by Teide to the public remains a source of debate. In a publication of 1626, Sir Edmund Scory, who probably stayed on the island in the first decades of the 17th century, gives a description of Teide, in which he notes the suitable paths to the top and the effects its considerable height causes for travellers, indicating that

18684-515: The goddess Pele of Hawaiian mythology , who lives in the volcano Kīlauea and is regarded by the native Hawaiians as responsible for the eruptions of the volcano. The same was true for the ancient Greeks and Romans, who believed that Vulcano and Mount Etna were chimneys of the foundry of the fire god Hephaestus ( Vulcan in Latin). In 1492, when Christopher Columbus arrived at the island of Tenerife, his crew claimed to see flames coming from

18857-535: The government coalition, the Polisario Front, as well as members of the governing party, who support a solution "that respects the democratic will of the Saharawi people". In July 2023, Israel officially recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. In October 2024, in a speech to the Parliament of Morocco , French President Emmanuel Macron backed Morocco's autonomy proposal. Macron also unveiled

19030-604: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In

19203-421: The group on their lists of terrorist organizations. Polisario leaders maintain that they are ideologically opposed to terrorism, and insist that collective punishment and forced disappearances among Sahrawi civilians should be considered state terrorism on the part of Morocco. Both Morocco and the Polisario additionally accuse each other of violating the human rights of the populations under their control, in

19376-423: The highest mountain of the island (Teide). Teide is located on Tenerife, the largest island of the Canary Islands, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, 290 km (180 mi) northwest of the coast of Western Sahara . The volcano is located in a central position on the Tenerife island. Administratively, the Canary Islands are a Spanish autonomous community. Teide itself is located within the commune of La Orotava in

19549-455: The independence camp. Morocco was also allowed to keep its army in the area and retain control over all security issues during both the autonomy years and the election. In 2002, the Moroccan king stated that the referendum idea was "out of date" since it "cannot be implemented"; Polisario retorted that that was only because of the King's refusal to allow it to take place. In 2003, a new version of

19722-446: The island of Gran Canaria at sunset. The shadow has a perfectly triangular shape, even though Teide's silhouette does not; this is an effect of aerial perspective . Visitors and tourists climb to the top of the volcano at sunset to witness this phenomenon. Teide National Park is a useful volcanic reference point for studies related to Mars because of the similarities in their environmental conditions and geological formations. In 2010

19895-632: The language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of the whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian

20068-549: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,

20241-495: The level of the first shield volcano. This is the start of the rejuvenation phase, forming the volcano Las Cañadas. It was also in this period that the volcanic activity began in the rifts of the island, formed by radial fractures due to the thrust of magma in the central volcano. The eruptions of Las Cañadas were initially basic and fluid lavas, but they differentiated over time ( trachybasalts and phonolites ), which gave place to more explosive eruptions. Around 200,000 years ago,

20414-694: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has

20587-772: The members of Maa El Ainain family, provided a recommended list of candidates for new governors. Together with the Spanish High Commissioner, Belbachir selected from this list. During the annual celebration of Muhammad 's birthday, these lords paid their respects to the caliph to show loyalty to the Moroccan monarchy. As time went by, Spanish colonial rule began to unravel with the general wave of decolonization after World War II ; former North African and sub-Saharan African possessions and protectorates gained independence from European powers. Spanish decolonization proceeded more slowly, but internal political and social pressures for it in mainland Spain built up towards

20760-477: The middle slopes of the volcano and reaching an alpine tree line 1,000 m (3,300 ft) lower than that of continental mountains at similar latitudes . Within the Las Cañadas caldera and at higher altitudes , plant species endemic to the Teide National Park include: the Teide white broom ( Cytisus supranubius ), which has white flowers; Descurainia bourgaeana , a shrubby crucifer with yellow flowers;

20933-469: The name " Independence Intifada ", while most sources have tended to see the events as being of limited importance. International press and other media coverage have been sparse, and reporting is complicated by the Moroccan government's policy of strictly controlling independent media coverage within the territory. Demonstrations and protests still occur, even after Morocco declared in February 2006 that it

21106-403: The next. Meanwhile the peak of Teide is covered by wave clouds , forming the "hat of Teide" ( Toca del Teide ) which was probably confused with signs of an eruption by sailors. Teide is a stratovolcano created by the same forces which formed the Canary Islands. The islands are aligned relatively east to west, but continue to the northeast in a series of undersea mountains which are part of

21279-540: The north of the Canary islands and also volcanic, have many islands and undersea mountains aligned in the same general direction and with similar dates. This pattern is consistent with archipelagoes which have formed over a hotspot such as the Hawaiian Islands. However, there are many differences with Hawaii. First, the Hawaiian Islands are sinking rapidly (in geological time) into the ocean, forming atolls , yet

21452-543: The north. In the waning days of General Franco 's rule, and after the Green March , the Spanish government signed a tripartite agreement with Morocco and Mauritania as it moved to transfer the territory on 14 November 1975. The accords were based on a bipartite administration, and Morocco and Mauritania each moved to annex the territories, with Morocco taking control of the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces , and Mauritania taking control of

21625-459: The northeast), Teno (to the northwest) and Roque del Conde (to the south). Each shield was apparently constructed in less than three million years, and the entire island in about eight million years. The initial juvenile stage was followed by a period of 2–3 million years of eruptive quiescence and erosion . This cessation of activity is typical of the Canaries; La Gomera , for example, is currently at this stage. After this period of quiescence,

21798-484: The northwest of the African continent to the south of Spain. The formation of Tenerife began a little less than 12 Mya. It started with the formation of a shield volcano centered not far from Teide itself, with volcanic activity which endured to around 8.9 Mya. The volcanic activity then stopped, and the volcano underwent some collapses in the process of erosion. One new shield volcano formed between 6 and 5 Mya, more to

21971-615: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as

22144-401: The northwest, Morocco proper to the north-northeast , Algeria to the east-northeast , and Mauritania to the east and south . Among the most arid and inhospitable on the planet, the land along the coast is low flat desert and rises, especially in the north, to small mountains reaching up to 600 metres (2,000 ft) on the eastern side. While the area can experience flash flooding in

22317-467: The option between independence or affirming integration with Morocco, but it quickly stalled. In 1997, the Houston Agreement attempted to revive the proposal for a referendum but likewise has hitherto not had success. As of 2010 , negotiations over terms have not resulted in any substantive action. At the heart of the dispute lies the question of who qualifies to be registered to participate in

22490-439: The peak of the volcano was swept away in a giant land slide to the north, forming the caldera of Las Cañadas. These massive landslides were quite frequent and were in part cased by the fractures of the rifts. Besides the caldera, the landslides were also responsible for the valley of La Orotava (around 600,000 years ago) and Güímar (around 850,000 years ago). The stratovolcanoes Teide and Pico Viejo (Old Peak, although it

22663-503: The plan was made official, with some additions spelling out the powers of the WSA, making it less reliant on Moroccan devolution . It also provided further detail on the referendum process in order to make it harder to stall or subvert. This second draft, commonly known as Baker II, was accepted by the Polisario as a "basis of negotiations" to the surprise of many. This appeared to abandon Polisario's previous position of only negotiating based on

22836-522: The plan, but he was met with rejection. King Hassan II of Morocco initially supported the referendum idea in principle in 1982, and signed contracts with Polisario and the UN in 1991 and 1997. No major powers have expressed interest in forcing the issue, however, and Morocco has shown little interest in a real referendum. Hassan II's son and successor, Mohammed VI , has opposed any referendum on independence, and has said Morocco will never agree to one: "We shall not give up one inch of our beloved Sahara, not

23009-533: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,

23182-519: The present day, the stratovolcanoes of Teide and Pico Viejo formed within the Las Cañadas caldera. Teide last erupted in 1909 from the El Chinyero vent, on the Santiago Ridge. Historical volcanic activity on the island is associated with vents on the Santiago or northwest rift (Boca Cangrejo in 1492, Montañas Negras in 1706, Narices del Teide or Chahorra in 1798, and El Chinyero in 1909) and

23355-526: The process to a halt. According to a NATO delegation, MINURSO election observers stated in 1999, as the deadlock continued, that "if the number of voters does not rise significantly the odds were slightly on the SADR side". By 2001, the process had effectively stalemated and the UN Secretary-General asked the parties for the first time to explore other, third-way solutions. Indeed, shortly after

23528-457: The rate of subsidence is insignificant in the Canary Islands. If the Canary islands were sinking at the same rate as the Hawaiian islands, Teide would be actually below sea-level. But one of the most fundamental differences, and which lends doubt to the theory of a hotspot, is the fact that the volcanic activity is not constrained to the most recent island, but continues through all the islands in

23701-539: The ravines have been covered by recent lava flows, the Lavas Negras , in particular the northern part. The main ravines, with prominence around 100 m (330 ft), are located on the south slope: from east to west, the Corredor Mario , Corredor La Corbata and Corredor La Bola . Despite its proximity to the Sahara, the Canary Islands have a relatively temperate climate. The sunshine duration

23874-473: The referendum, and, since about the year 2000, Morocco considers that since there is no agreement on persons entitled to vote, a referendum is not possible. Meanwhile, Polisario still insisted on a referendum with independence as a clear option, without offering a solution to the problem of who is qualified to be registered to participate in it. Both sides blame each other for the stalling of the referendum. The Polisario has insisted on only allowing those found on

24047-472: The rest of the territory. It gradually contained the guerrillas by setting up the extensive sand-berm in the desert (known as the Border Wall or Moroccan Wall) to exclude guerrilla fighters. Hostilities ceased in a 1991 cease-fire, overseen by the peacekeeping mission MINURSO , under the terms of a UN Settlement Plan . The referendum, originally scheduled for 1992, foresaw giving the local population

24220-483: The right. Like the other Canary Islands , and volcanic ocean islands in general, Tenerife was built by accretion of large shield volcanoes , three of which developed in a relatively short period. This early shield stage volcanism formed the bulk of the emerged part of Tenerife. The shield volcanoes date back to the Miocene and early Pliocene and are preserved in three isolated and deeply eroded massifs : Anaga (to

24393-581: The same status as Morocco, and Morocco protested by suspending its membership of the OAU. Morocco was readmitted to the Union in 2017, after promising conflicting claims would be resolved peacefully and it would stop building walls to extend its military control. Meanwhile, the African Union has not issued any formal statement about the border separating the sovereign territories of Morocco and the SADR. Instead,

24566-451: The same volcanic region as the Canary Islands. Dating indicates that the age of these islands changes from east to west, with the older islands and undersea mountains to the east and more recent ones to the west. This makes Fuerteventura and Lanzarote the oldest islands, from 20.2 Mya , and El Hierro the youngest, from 1.1 Mya. Counting the undersea mountains, Mount Lars is the oldest, from 68 Mya. The Madeira islands , located not far to

24739-501: The sky. Many hiding places found in the mountains contain the remains of stone tools and pottery. These have been interpreted as being ritual deposits to counter the influence of evil spirits, like those made by the Berbers of Kabylie . The Guanches believed the mountain to be the place that housed the forces of evil and the most evil figure, Guayota. Guayota shares features similar to other powerful deities inhabiting volcanoes, such as

24912-453: The south rise to 2,717 m (8,914 ft), the level of Mount Guajara . To the north, the slopes of Teide continue directly to the ocean, with a break in the slope at around 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The volcano of Teide itself can be described as a volcanic cone 8 km (5.0 mi) in diameter at its base, with quite steep slopes, approximately 20 to 40° for a total volume of 150 to 200 km (36 to 48 cu mi). The summit

25085-528: The south side of the structure, the internal walls rise as almost sheer cliffs from 2,100 to 2,715 m (6,890 to 8,907 ft). The 3,715 m (12,188 ft) summit of Teide itself, and its sister stratovolcano Pico Viejo (3,134 m (10,282 ft)), are both situated in the northern half of the caldera and are derived from eruptions later than this prehistoric explosion. Future eruptions may include pyroclastic flows and surges similar to those that occurred at Mount Pelée , Merapi , Vesuvius , Etna ,

25258-548: The southern third as Tiris al-Gharbiyya . Spain terminated its presence in Spanish Sahara within three months, repatriating Spanish remains from its cemeteries. The Moroccan and Mauritanian annexations were resisted by the Polisario Front , which had gained backing from Algeria . It initiated guerrilla warfare and, in 1979, Mauritania withdrew due to pressure from Polisario, including a bombardment of its capital and other economic targets. Morocco extended its control to

25431-516: The sovereignty of the King of Morocco . In March 2022, the Spanish government abandoned its traditional position of neutrality in the conflict, siding with the Moroccan government and recognising the autonomy proposal "as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for the resolution of the dispute". This sudden turnaround was generally rejected by both the Opposition, the parties that make up

25604-684: The spring, there are no permanent streams. At times, a cool off-shore current can produce fog and heavy dew. The interior experiences extreme summer heat, with average highs reaching 43–45 °C (109–113 °F) in July and in August; during winter, days are still hot to very hot, with average highs from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F); however, in the northern part of the territory, the thermometer may drop below 0 °C (32 °F) at night and it can be freezing in December and in January, although this

25777-591: The standards of voter identification from 1991 (i.e. the Spanish census). After that, the draft quickly garnered widespread international support, culminating in the UN Security Council's unanimous endorsement of the plan in the summer of 2003. Baker resigned his post at the United Nations in 2004; his term did not see the crisis resolved. His resignation followed several months of failed attempts to get Morocco to enter into formal negotiations on

25950-477: The summit, making it the highest flowering plant in Spain. These plants are adapted to the tough environmental conditions on the volcano, such as high altitude, intense sunlight, extreme temperature variations, and lack of moisture. Adaptations include hemispherical forms, a downy or waxy cover, a reduction of the exposed leaf area, and high flower production. Flowering takes place in the late spring or early summer, in May and June. Teide National Park contains

26123-431: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that

26296-469: The territory at the time of the Spanish colonization. The population of the territory thus possessed the right of self-determination . On 6 November 1975 Morocco initiated the Green March into Western Sahara; 350,000 unarmed Moroccans converged on the city of Tarfaya in southern Morocco and waited for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross the border in a peaceful march. A few days before, on 31 October, Moroccan troops invaded Western Sahara from

26469-440: The territory, argued that it had been artificially separated from their territories by the European colonial powers. Algeria , which also bordered the territory, viewed their demands with suspicion, as Morocco also claimed the Algerian provinces of Tindouf and Béchar . After arguing for a process of decolonization to be guided by the United Nations , the Algerian government under Houari Boumédiènne in 1975 committed to assisting

26642-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,

26815-465: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing

26988-408: The third-highest volcano in the world, UNESCO and NASA rank it as Earth's third-tallest volcanic structure. Teide's elevation above sea level makes Tenerife the tenth highest island in the world . Teide started forming 170,000 years ago due to volcanic activity following a catastrophic landslide . Teide's base is situated in Las Cañadas crater (the remains of an older, eroded, extinct volcano) at

27161-500: The top of Teide, although, due to weather conditions, she could not meet this objective. The lava flows on the flanks of Teide weather to a very thin but nutrient- and mineral-rich soil that supports a wide variety of plant species. Vascular flora consists of 168 plant species, 33 of which are endemic to Tenerife. Forests of Canary Island Pine ( Pinus canariensis ) with Canary Island juniper ( Juniperus cedrus ) occur from 1,000 to 2,100 metres (3,300–6,900 ft), covering

27334-437: The volcanic activity became concentrated within two large edifices: the central volcano of Las Cañadas, and the Anaga massif. The Las Cañadas volcano developed over the Miocene shield volcanoes and may have reached 40 km (25 mi) in diameter and 4,500 m (14,800 ft) in height. Around 160–220 thousand years ago the summit of the Las Cañadas I volcano collapsed, creating the Las Cañadas (Ucanca) caldera . Later,

27507-479: The volcano had been accessed via different routes before the 17th century. In 1715 the English traveler J. Edens and his party made the ascent and reported their observations in the journal of the Royal Society in London. After the Enlightenment , most of the expeditions that went to East Africa and the Pacific had Teide as one of the most rewarding targets. The expedition of Lord George Macartney , George Staunton and John Barrow in 1792 almost ended in tragedy, as

27680-405: The west, in Teno then another in Anaga , to the east, between 4.9 and 3.9 Mya. Together, these three shield volcanoes represent 90% of the volume of Tenerife. The lavas are basalts , basic rocks (i.e. having a low content of silica) and therefore very fluid, this explains the characteristic form of shield volcanoes. Around 3.5 Mya, after a pause of 5.5 million years, volcanic activity resumed to

27853-433: The world after Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea , both on the island of Hawaii . The formation of the mountain is marked by its long and complex volcanic history. It rests on the Las Cañadas caldera, an asymmetric depression 15 km (9.3 mi) in diameter in the form of a horseshoe which opens to the north. The floor of the caldera varies from 2,000 to 2,200 m (6,600 to 7,200 ft) in altitude, although its sides in

28026-462: The world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in

28199-460: The year 850 AD, and this eruption produced the "Lavas Negras" or "Black Lavas" that cover much of the flanks of the volcano. About 150,000 years ago, a much larger explosive eruption occurred, probably of Volcanic Explosivity Index 5. It created the Las Cañadas caldera, a large caldera at about 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above sea level, around 16 km (9.9 mi) from east to west and 9 km (5.6 mi) from north to south. At Guajara, on

28372-407: Was a sacred mountain for the aboriginal Guanches , so it was considered a mythological mountain, as Mount Olympus was to the ancient Greeks . When going on to Teide during an eruption , it was customary for the Guanches to light bonfires to scare Guayota . Guayota is often represented as a black dog, accompanied by his host of demons ( Tibicenas ). The Guanches also believed that Teide held up

28545-403: Was contemplating a plan for devolving a limited variant of autonomy to the territory but still explicitly refused any referendum on independence. As of January 2007, the plan had not been made public, though the Moroccan government claimed that it was more or less complete. Polisario has intermittently threatened to resume fighting, referring to the Moroccan refusal of a referendum as a breach of

28718-581: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in

28891-446: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language

29064-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")

29237-436: Was home to more than 12,000 people. In November 2010, Moroccan security forces entered Gadaym Izik camp in the early hours of the morning, using helicopters and water cannon to force people to leave. The Polisario Front said Moroccan security forces had killed a 26-year-old protester at the camp, a claim denied by Morocco. Protesters in Laayoune threw stones at police and set fire to tires and vehicles. Several buildings, including

29410-406: Was initially derived from a Moroccan proposal. According to Baker's draft, tens of thousands of post-annexation immigrants from Morocco proper (viewed by Polisario as settlers but by Morocco as legitimate inhabitants of the area) would be granted the vote in the Sahrawi independence referendum, and the ballot would be split three ways by the inclusion of an unspecified " autonomy ", further undermining

29583-435: Was presented to the UN Security Council in mid-April 2007. The stalemating of the Moroccan proposal options has led the UN in the recent "Report of the UN Secretary-General" to ask the parties to enter into direct and unconditional negotiations to reach a mutually accepted political solution. In October 2010, Gadaym Izik camp was set up near Laayoune as a protest by displaced Sahrawi people about their living conditions. It

29756-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in

29929-415: Was visited by 4,079,823 visitors and tourists, reaching a historical record. Teide Observatory , a major international astronomical observatory , is located on the slopes of the mountain. Before the 1496 Spanish colonization of Tenerife, the native Guanches referred to a powerful figure living in the volcano, which carries light, power and the sun. El Pico del Teide is the modern Spanish name. Teide

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